The Moosewood Cookbook

In the early 1970s a group of friends opened a small vegetarian restaurant in an old school building in Ithaca, New York. One of the cooks, Mollie Katzen, began collecting the dishes they served, writing them out by hand and adding her own pen-and-ink drawings. The first spiral-bound copies sold out quickly at a local bookstore, and a few years later a small California publisher brought the book to readers everywhere.

What makes the book special is its voice. Every page is lettered and illustrated by Katzen, so the recipes read like notes from a friend standing beside you at the stove. There are hearty soups and chilled gazpacho, big salads, dips and spreads, stuffed vegetables, casseroles, breads and a generous dessert section that ends with crowd-pleasers like fudge brownies. The 40th anniversary edition keeps the hand-drawn charm while revising many recipes and adding guidance for vegan cooks.

Recipes use everyday ingredients and clear steps, and the book has stayed in print since the 1970s through several revised editions. About 256 pages in the 40th anniversary paperback, and a lovely gift for new cooks and new kitchens.